Catholic Transcript Online

Of the many gifts that come from living in Connecticut, certainly the full experience of all four seasons is a special one. In recent weeks we have been teased with hints of spring signaling an emergence from a rather severe winter. Now with April new life and new growth abound.

Yes, we know that T.S. Eliot wrote, "April is the cruelest month." Can we say that any month is the cruelest? We know, however, what he means. New life, new growth, new beauty bring new groaning, new challenges, new struggles. Through it all the mystery of God unfolds.

For the past four weeks we have been observing the springtime of the spirit, the sacred season of Lent. Whether we read Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales or listen to Richard Wagner’s opera, Tannhäuser, we know that we are a pilgrim people. Our pilgrimage will take us through Good Friday to arrive at Easter Sunday. There is no shortcut. There is no cheap grace.

(I heard the story recently of a young boy who was taken to the wake of his friend’s grandfather. It was the boy’s first wake, and when he went outside after it, he was a bit mystified. When asked what he thought, he explained, "I thought the man would be hanging on a cross!" We don’t go that far.)

It is particularly gratifying to witness the journey of our catechumens during this time. They have been preparing for months and sometimes longer to receive the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil in their parishes on Holy Saturday Night. That preparation becomes somewhat more concentrated during Lent, beginning with the Rite of Election on the First Sunday of Lent in the Cathedral.

Once again this year, that experience of the Rite of Election was an emotional and uplifting one. The Cathedral was filled with catechumens, candidates (those who have been previously baptized but are now preparing to make their profession of faith and to receive the other sacraments), godparents, sponsors, relatives and parishioners supporting them on their journey.

During Lent their instruction picks up, and they are presented over time with certain gifts: the Commandments, salt (the symbol of wisdom), the Creed, the Our Father, the Four Gospels. With many years of practice, some of us may take these blessings for granted, but in the respect the catechumens have for them we understand more deeply how extraordinary these gifts are. This is all part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a practice in the early centuries of the Church that has been renewed in recent decades and is showing magnificent results.

We look forward to sharing the deep joy of the catechumens and candidates as they become full members of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. So many gifts open up to them: the Sacraments, the Scriptures, the Tradition of the Church, the works of the Church, communion and solidarity, the "belongingness" and the "connectedness" in the Church family, the saints, music, art, architecture, literature, feast days, the mission of the Church, the prayers of the Church.

There is reason, therefore, for high jubilation and exultation. The wondrous Exultet of the Easter Vigil sings praise in honor of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and in the consequent hope for our own resurrection. The music and the ceremony proclaim our gratitude, but our sentiments are also realized in reverential whispers, devotion, awe, and contemplative serenity.

The ecology of our inner balance resonates here. The reservoirs of our inner sanctuaries are nourished, our interior rooms of silence develop, and the storehouses of our true selves are enriched.

When priests participate in Ordination ceremonies over the years, we appreciate all the more the wonder of our own Ordination. Witnessing the reception of sacraments for the first time by our catechumens and candidates strengthens for all of us the gratitude we have for being Christians and members of the Catholic Church.

Gratitude is appropriately expressed by sharing. May our prayers and work in God’s grace bring others to know the miracle of it all, the gift which transcends all the seasons and leads us pilgrims to eternal life. Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, may we realize the promise of Psalm 16:11:

Happy Easter!